Catasauqua’s wrestling program was looking for a springboard for the upcoming dual meet season that began against Southern Lehigh Wednesday night.

They found one in their own tournament.

Catty finished fourth from a 10-team field in their annual Rough Rider Tournament last weekend. The Roughies accumulated 121 points behind champion Lake Lehman.

“The kids wrestled really tough,” said Roughies’ head coach Joe Russo. “We can now look forward to building off this success for our dual meet season. We had a number of kids who did well.”

Austin Brett (120), Wilquon Clemons (152), Jaryn Hartranft (106), and Adam Reinhard (182) all finished as runners-up, and Cole Brown (113), Bradshaw Henning (126), and Brad Panto (170) all were third in their respective weight classes.

Dylan Gino (145), Sebastian Henry (160), Ben Lansdorf (138) and Zach Scheirer (220) n claimed fourth-place finishes.

Seniors Clemons and Panto both are confident the Roughies can be a factor in the league and beyond. Still, they are cautiously optimistic.

“I was proud of the way I wrestled for not being on the mat in a while, but there always is room for improvement,” said Clemons. “We’re a sleeper team in the league, but we believe we can shock the league especially on everyone’s performance in the tournament.”

“It was a good showing for us,” added Panto. “We showed that we can definitely be competitive during the season and into the postseason. I know I will do as much as I can do to help us get far.

“But we all have to take one match at a time. We need to focus on the present and take it as it comes.”

Brett, a sophomore who was injured most of last season, also is working on a steady, progressive pace.

“I felt like it was a learning experience for me,” he said. “My goal is to keep improving with every week and match.

“I have a strong outlook for the season because I was out for a while last year, but I am looking to make up for it. I think this will be a good year for all of us.”